Well looky looky! My hibiscus is blooming!!! I planted this about 7 weeks ago and it has not only grown bigger, but we have so many little bloom buds, and two big blooms! I am just so excited about it!

My hibiscus reminds me that we all bloom at differing times and we all have different needs in order to bloom. Also, you have to adjust for optimal conditions, differing environments can yield undesirable results, or more desirable results, so stay on your toes and be willing to adapt!

I hope your Independence Day weekend is off to a great start, be safe and make good choices!

We only have 5 times to count to 12 in this Summer series, let’s make each set count!

I have not been doing yoga regularly…or at all? It has been very hit or miss and like with any regular exercise, I feel that I am back at square one in so many ways. I have been asking myself a lot the last couple of weeks, how did I build up to the place I left off with regular yoga??? Truthfully, I went about 5 times a week, but I think I was so determined to go, to regain function and feeling in my left side, that I pushed myself to get there. That is all well and fine, but I know that I cannot push to that place right now. I am being prompted to love and care for my body differently, and my mind says I can still get back there without punishing myself like I did before.

As you may know by now, I have a tendency to be super hard on myself, and that robs me a ton of joy. So can I get back to my previous state of flexibility and endurance? I sure can, I just need to be consistent and work consistently…remembering that it is about my breath and my movement. I have so many damn aches and pains that I had totally gotten away from with regular yoga, but alas I am rekindled with. I don’t like it, don’t want it, know how to get rid of it, so that is what I am doing. I am not sure I am ready to go back to the studio yet, so that leaves me the option of practicing at home. Normally, I would do this in my office, but with our patio looking so enticing, and not getting morning sun, I decided to start practicing there!

First, let me say that I had planned to be out here at 7am…but it was more like 9:30 when I got out here. I am waking very stiff, and so I have to sit and let my body relax for a bit before I can move. See, I had eradicated this crap with regular yoga, but this is where I am. Anyhoo, the dogs enjoy being outside, and they actually get in my face less with outdoors yoga than indoor yoga, and they love to lay IN the sun, even if it makes them hot.

When you first start yoga, your feet will hurt. The muscles are not used to all of the work…and that is where I am, back to starting over with foot strength. Add neuropathy on my left side and I am shaking like a leaf. Today I did a yang/yin combo. I didn’t think my poor feet would make it through the Yang portion. I have no one to blame but myself.

Tomorrow I will go out earlier in the day and change where I put my mat too. The sun got a little hot at the end, and if you know me, I ain’t here for the heat, lol!

So, will I work and sweat to death in the heat? Yes, outdoor work is meant to be dirty, sweaty, and hot. My yoga is not. I like my yoga cool, slow, calming, restoring, rebalancing, and nervous system super friendly.

What are you doing that you need to for yourself? Are you willing to start, or restart what you know is best for you and that works well for you and your betterment? Don’t think about it, just do it. Slow is better than never! Drop me a line, let me know what you are going to start or restart for yourself, I would love to know!

I went to lunch with a dear friend today. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, so it was a great time to catch up! We had a lot of laughs, some serious discussions, but we talked a lot about communication. There is so much value in words, are we speaking, relaying, conveying those well enough, and are we receptive to others’ words…maybe even too receptive at times?

I came home after, and sat outside with my pooches. I communicate a lot of verbal and non verbal cues with my dogs, yet we understand each other very well. Why are humans so reluctant to learn helpful communication skills? Is it the old adage of can’t teach old dogs new tricks sort of thing? I don’t think so, I honestly think it isn’t taught and that is the actual problem.

How is communication key for you? How did you learn to be a good communicator? Did you learn via good and bad communication, and what tips would you give others, or future generations to aid their communication for better relationships? Drop me a line, let me know!

Do you remember when I had a hankering to paint…and I ended up painting the basement and patch painting…and a whole bunch of other home improvements? Well, I dreamt that I was writing calligraphy, and I have been tossing that around for a while too. Part of me wonders if it is also synonymous for something else, a need for that type of creative outlet, or if I am just being prompted to write more. Do you dream about doing things that are really prompts to get you in to action? I know I sure do. Drop me a line, let me know what’s next on your project list, or what action you need to be taking. Happy New Moon, lunatics!

I spent most of my day cleaning my basement ceiling, and the rest of the ceilings in my house. I started by using my ride, er, I mean my broom to get all of the cobwebs off the ceiling and in the crevices on the main two floors of our house. I then used the sweeper to do the basement. I did not get a pic of me using the sweeper in the basement, maybe you heard me cursing while I was at it? However, enjoy this pic of my broom…

This is a standard broom size, the photo warps it a bit, but I was fortunate to receive this for my birthday a few years back from a good friend. I use this handmade broom all of the time, not just for transportation. 😉 We are doing a lot of house clearing, and this is one of the handiest tools to have!

I also took Bill to pick up a rental car for his work this week, and I as I was driving home, I had some impatient person think that I should pull in to the roundabout in front of traffic. He was very hand gesturing and honked his horn. Sorry dude, I was not trying to die? We were all stuck behind the semi going to Riffle, what could we all do? Lol! Probably should have taken the broom after all. Idek.

A photo of Bill brooming, for reference. He may wish he was taking the broom for his long drive tomorrow??? Anyhow, do you ever wonder why we get away from the simplistic things that clearly work? Why do we think all advancements provide more joy or ease? Are we really working smarter than harder with all things? Drop me a line, let me know something you like doing the “old” way and why you like it, I would love to know!

I was so productive yesterday during the day, that I didn’t have time to write a post, and in the evening time we went to the Chillicothe Paints game, I failed to write while there too. With the heat and humidity, I will have plenty of time to devote to writing today though, so no worries!

You cannot go wrong with a Paints game, tickets are $7, it is a great family friendly environment, and it is local. We had a group of 8, and it was easy enough to find seats by arriving a half hour early. There was a concert after, but to be honest, the game was at the top of the 9th inning at 10pm when we left, and we were bushed after such a long day, so sadly we missed that. There is a concert coming up with the same band and our tattoo artist’s band, so hopefully we will catch that when they play at the same venue!

Today we went to Lowe’s, as we received some free plants elsewhere that needed planting, and I needed some potting soil. The danger is taking me anywhere with plants, or wine. I did acquire a new plant at Lowe’s, whoopsy. It is such a beautiful perennial, it will go perfectly in my pollinator garden. This beauty is called Glitzy Bee Delphinium, love at first sight, y’all!!!

Look at this beauty! Ah! Even the store associate was going on about how much she loves this plant too, and had been admiring it for a while. It truly is a beautiful plant! We planted several things today in pots, coleus and tomatoes, and this gorgeous in the ground. I think it will be the perfect day to hang out, play some cards and just enjoy each other’s company. How about you, what does your day look like today? Drop me a line, I’d love to know about your weekend!

Holy cow what a busy day!

Some days are so dang productive that you don’t take pics, you are wonderfully worn out, and it is only 8:37 and you could easily go to bed! Bill and I did so much today, but the best thing is that we started our day running some fun errands and enjoying our time together! We had plenty of time to talk, laugh and enjoy each other’s company. What a great start to our day!

One of our stops today was to pick up Paints tickets for tomorrow. We will be heading to the game with friends and family, it will be such a great time! Plus the bonus is that a band will be playing afterwards, yeehaw!

We have been doing a lot of home projects over the last few months, and we are continuing down that path. It feels great to get things done, and wouldn’t that be great if I took photos of them all, alas, that is not the case. However, here is a photo of our new burn barrel we picked up today, with some debris burning, lol!

I cleaned bathrooms today, including hand washing the floor…after mulching yesterday, I felt it best to get the mopping done today, you know, kill the knees all at once. I can say that I am glad those tasks are done and my knees can catch a break! Bill has been crazy busy on his feet the last two days with projects, tonight he decided to treat himself, prop his legs up and to share some cheese cubes with the dogs!

Good times!!! Tomorrow we have more tasks before the game, the weekend busy won’t stop, but we can add some fun things in to make it better too! We can’t wait to have some local fun, what is your favorite local thing to do to have fun? Drop me a line, let me know, spark some inspiration!

Today was a great day, everything was clicking, running right along, and despite it being a 2 times to Lowe’s sort of day, that was not a negative, but fruitful and positive producing. Truly, everything just fell in to place today!

We have always put wood mulch in our flower beds, but for a couple of years, I have been wanting to put rock mulch in the back part of the front flower bed where the holly bushes are, and today that happened! We could not be more pleased with how it turned out! We still put black wood mulch in the front part, and the rest of the front beds, i love the contrast, but may have to convert to more rock later.

I was thankful when all was said and done, that we had already made plans for today with Brooke. We decided last week to hit a movie matinee with her for today, and boy were we glad that we had made those plans. How many times is too many to see a great movie? If you have seen Top Gun Maverick, then you know what I am saying. Let me tell you, it was just as good the second time as the first! Brooke says she will probably go a third time, I can’t blame her, at all.

We finished our great day by ordering dinner from somewhere we haven’t eaten yet…Wagner’s Roadhouse! It was delicious, quick, inexpensive and a local gem that we will order from again!

I am so thankful for today, it was such a great day. WordPress was being difficult tonight, so I am also thankful it finally started acting right again too. We had some great family moments today, which I am beyond grateful for, as well. How was your day today, was it great, did it have some great moments? Drop me a line, let me know!

Ugh. I would love to pretend that I am not one of those people that watches Stranger Things, but it would be an outright lie, and damn if I haven’t been binging that show. I have made my way in to Season 4, and there have been a multitude of leaks implying uncertain main character deaths. Brooke and I have discussed who we feel can, and can’t die, who we would be okay with going out and not coming back, as if we were consulted.

Dang, I never thought I would be so sucked in to a series! JK, total lie, hello GoT! I love a good series, but I truly never thought I would be in to Stranger Things, I love the nostalgia of the 80s though, and I do love how they borrow from so many classics to formulate this show for a new, younger audience too. How about you, have you watched this series? Are you sucked in to another series? I would love to know, drop me a line!

I got outside early today, weeded my flower beds, weeded my patio and pool deck area. Let me tell you, Virginia Creeper is a complete creep…it spreads easily and clings on to surfaces for dear life. Goodbye Ginny, you are no longer welcome here! I seriously rolled it up today, like a carpet and there was only about a 4 foot section of it. So glad to have that done! Do you have any plants/weeds that you have to fight back, yearly? I think it is time to kill the roots, but I am okay with it now.

It is quite hot out today, even the dogs that prefer to be outside all the time, just laid by the door looking out earlier. I have been providing the pooches with ice cubes on these hot days, and the cats mainly stay hidden from the heat, but they get ice cubes too. This summer is supposed to be a real hot one, how will you be staying cool?

Can you believe today is the first day of summer?! Happy Solstice! I love gaining minutes from winter until now, watching everything come back to life and flourish, bloom and get all showy with color. I also love the descent back in to darkness over the next few months, things dying off, showing beauty in their slide in to death. Fall is my favorite, for sure, but the older I get, the more I like summer and the less I like winter. I love the warmth of summer on my body, the fluidity it provides, the ease of movement…I totally get why people move south the older they get!

This all makes me think about how we mark time, seasonally. Are you enjoying the seasons, of the year and in your life? We have a way of speeding through it all, to get to the next thing, but are you enjoying today, the now? I know I am trying to enjoy the seasons more, but I also see where I can improve upon that enjoyment, thus all of the outdoor work around here. What are you doing to mark your seasons and the bounty each one provides? Drop me a line, I would love to know your thoughts!